The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment

by Eric O. Jacobsen, William A. Dyrness (Editor), Robert Johnson (Editor)

Overview

Outreach Magazine's 2012 Resource of the Year Award Winner

2012 Book of the Year Award, Foreword Magazine

The entire material world can be divided between the Natural Environment and the Built Environment. Over the past forty years, the Natural Environment has received more attention of the two, but that is beginning to change. With a renewed interest in "place" within various academic disciplines and the practical issues of rising fuel costs and scarcity of land, the Built Environment has emerged as a coherent and engaging subject for academic and popular consideration.

While there is a growing body of work on the Built Environment, very little approaches it from a distinctly Christian perspective. This major new work represents a comprehensive and grounded approach. Employing tools from the field of theology and culture, it demonstrates how looking at the Built Environment through a theological lens provides a unique perspective on questions of beauty, justice, and human flourishing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801039089
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Series:	Cultural Exegesis
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Eric O. Jacobsen (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith and numerous articles exploring connections between the Christian community, the church, and traditional neighborhoods. He is also the coeditor of Traditions in Leadership and The Three Tasks of Leadership.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introducing the Built Environment 11

Part I Orientation 29

1 Who Are You? 33

2 Where Are You? 55

3 What Are You? 79

4 When Are You? 103

Part II Participation 131

5 Family 135

6 Politics 157

7 Church 183

Part III Engagement 207

8 The Sustainable Environment 213

9 Loving Place 239

Conclusion: A Geography of Rest 271

Notes 279

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

Jacobsen (Sidewalks in the Kingdom) offers a fascinating and thorough examination of the development and role of spatial relationships within a human-built environment and how it affects the human situation. The seminal issue he explores is what he calls “enacted space”: “We’ve already noted that the most significant aspect of the built environment is found in the space between buildings. However, that space becomes interesting only when it is activated by people using it.” This is not another tome about “going green” but a serious, meticulous examination of the physical apparatus, animated by human players, that makes cultures thrive, communities effervesce, and people feel as if they belong somewhere. It is a formidable read that demands resolve of the reader. But its worth justifies its heft. It is an excellent choice for the college classroom and students studying the social sciences. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly